(Hot Topics) United Nations Report on Toxic Electronic Waste | Aspirants Times

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Aspirants Times: United Nations Report on Toxic Electronic Waste | Hot Topics

According to a United Nations report released recently Developing countries face increasing environmental and health hazards from electronic waste unless toxic materials are collected and recycled properly.

The report highlights the problem of recycling and salvaging procedures in poorer countries, often in unsafe conditions by unregulated operators. Sales of electronic devices are set to rise sharply in the next 10 years, particularly in emerging economies such as China and India, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said.

According to report, titled Recycling - from E-Waste to Resources, the world produces about 40 million tons of waste from electronic devices, known as e-waste, every year.

Main Feature

Experts said exposure to toxic chemicals from e-waste - including lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and polybrominated biphenyls - can damage the brain and nervous system, affect the kidneys and liver, and cause birth defects.

The report was launched in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. It used data from 11 developing countries to estimate current and future e-waste generation from discarded computers, printers, mobile phones, pagers, cameras, music players, refrigerators, toys, televisions and other items.

China produces an estimated 2.3 million tons of e-waste annually, and though the country has banned e-waste imports, it remains a major dumping ground for waste from developed countries, the report said.

The UN research predicts that in South Africa and China, e-waste from old computers may jump by 200 to 400 per cent from 2007 levels and by 500 per cent in India.

E-waste from mobile phones in the same period is forecast to rise seven times in China, and 18 times in India.

According to the report, over 1 billion mobile phones were sold in 2007 worldwide, up from 896 million in 2006.

The report said most e-waste in China was improperly handled, with much of it incinerated by backyard recyclers to recover valuable metals like gold.
Jim Pucket of the Basel Action Network, a non-governmental organization fighting the international trade in toxic wastes, said massive amounts of discarded devices had been exported to China for years.

But China is not alone in facing the serious e-waste problem. India, Brazil, Mexico and others may also face rising environmental damage and health problems if e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal sector.

Report urged governments to establish e-waste management centres, building on existing organizations working in the area of recycling and waste management.

What is Electronic Waste

Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) describes loosely discarded, surplus, obsolete, broken, electrical or electronic devices. The processing of electronic waste in developing countries causes serious health and pollution problems because electronic equipment contains some very serious contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium and brominated flame retardants. Even in developed countries recycling and disposal of e-waste involves significant risk to workers and communities and great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations and leaching of material such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.

Problems

Rapid technology change, low initial cost, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. Dave Kruch, CEO of Cash For Laptops, regards electronic waste as a "rapidly expanding" issue. Technical solutions are available, but in most cases a legal framework, a collection system, logistics, and other services need to be implemented before a technical solution can be applied. An estimated 50 million tonnes of E-waste is produced each year. The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year.

In the United States, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills comes from discarded electronics, while electronic waste represents only 2% of America's trash in landfills. The EPA states that unwanted electronics totaled 2 million tons in 2005. Discarded electronics represented 5 to 6 times as much weight as recycled electronics.
The Consumer Electronics Association says that U.S. households spend an average of $1,400 annually on an average of 24 electronic items, leading to speculations of millions of tons of valuable metals sitting in desk drawers. The U.S. National Safety Council estimates that 75% of all personal computers ever sold are now gathering dust as surplus electronics. While some recycle, 7% of cellphone owners still throw away their old cellphones.
 
Surplus electronics have extremely high cost differentials. A single repairable laptop can be worth hundreds of dollars, while an imploded cathode ray tube (CRT) is extremely difficult and expensive to recycle. This has created a difficult free-market economy. Large quantities of used electronics are typically sold to countries with very high repair capability and high raw material demand, which can result in high accumulations of residue in poor areas without strong environmental laws.
Trade in electronic waste is controlled by the Basel Convention. The Basel Convention Parties have considered the question of whether exports of hazardous used electronic equipment for repair or refurbishment are considered as Basel Convention hazardous wastes, subject to import and export controls under that Convention. In the Guidance document produced on that subject, that question was left up to the Parties, however in the working group all of the Parties present believed that when material is untested, or contains hazardous parts that would need to be replaced as part of the repair process, then the Convention did apply.

Like virgin material mining and extraction, recycling of materials from electronic scrap has raised concerns over toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of its substances and processes. Toxic substances in electronic waste may include lead, mercury, and cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste may include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Capacitors, transformers, and wires insulated with or components coated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), manufactured before 1977, often contain dangerous amounts of PCBs.

Up to 38 separate chemical elements are incorporated into electronic waste items. Many of the plastics used in electronic equipment contain flame retardants. These are generally halogens added to the plastic resin, making the plastics difficult to recycle. Due to the flame retardants being additives, they easily leach off the material in hot weather, which is a problem because when disposed of, electronic waste is generally left outside. The flame retardants leach into the soil and recorded levels were 93 times higher than soil with no contact with electronic waste.[12] The unsustainability of discarding electronics and computer technology is another reason commending the need to recycle or to reuse electronic waste.

When materials cannot or will not be reused, conventional recycling or disposal via landfill often follow. Standards for both approaches vary widely by jurisdiction, whether in developed or developing countries. The complexity of the various items to be disposed of, the cost of environmentally approved recycling systems, and the need for concerned and concerted action to collect and systematically process equipment are challenges. One study indicates that two thirds of executives are unaware of fines related to environmental regulations.

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